What’s Your Wardrobe Missing?

Fashion is something that should be wildly personal. It’s a journey of image and discovery, of putting together the look that you want to represent you. If you stick to conventional guides alone, you’re going to end up with a lot of holes in your wardrobe. But you can find what’s missing with a little bit of detective work. Here, let’s explore what it means to have a complete wardrobe without feeling like you always have to keep working at it.

The best place to start is from the beginning. Rather than hoping for complete outfits from the get-go, you should begin by looking at the staples that aren’t there at the moment. Take everything out from your wardrobe and start purging what you rarely if ever wear. From the rest, start to create matching outfits. There’s a good chance that after a good purge you’re going to be missing big pieces of certain outfits. That’s the best place to start off from. If you can find those staple pieces that fit more than one of the outfits missing a component, then that’s even better.

Find the “you” pieces

It’s not all about completing different outfits, either. Women should have those individual pieces that are always reliable, that always speak to their identity, and set them out from the others. This doesn’t mean that you always have to wear your “you” piece. But when an outfit, when completed, is still feeling like it’s missing something, then a piece of custom jewelry from places like Frost NYC or a staple bag can just add enough difference to your silhouette to finalize it. It’s a great way to develop a style that’s individualistic and undoubtedly “you” without having it dominate every outfit you wear completely. Accessories can help you personalize even the outfits that you might consider your least exploratory or experimental.

What purpose does it have?

It’s not all about personal preference alone, either. You have to be willing to account for what purpose your outfit is going to have. This means taking a bit of a mental exercise in mapping out all the roles you look to fulfill in life. Do you need to find the outfit that makes you look like a consummate professional? The outfit that helps you drop some jaws on a date? The outfit that fits those easy-going summer night gatherings? Think about the purpose of what you choose. Of course, you should make sure that the purpose is likely enough to happen to actually justify buying any components of the outfit as well. Too many times do people buy outfits for occasions that they simply never take part in.

When you have a complete wardrobe, you shouldn’t have to keep working on it. Sure, you might occasionally see something you like, transition it to a new season, or occasionally want an update. But the best finds are those that you could keep going back to. If what you’re looking at doesn’t fit that definition, it might be worth reconsidering.